𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄; DIABOLIK LOVERS

ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ

And when it finally came together, the quiet tremor of her pupils, dilating rapidly under the moonlit ambiance... It didn't just have one conclusion.

There was the fear, first and foremost, silently wrapping its tendrils into her core, snaking its way up before its lit ablaze by the whitest, and brightest flames burning fury into her psyche. Her hands shook before she lifted her gaze to meet mine.

And then there was nothing.

Her eyes were now a sunset without the sun; reflecting the harsh stony exterior of apathy. Dulled and lost, she stood small, keeping to herself in solitude.

I prayed for anything else. She can yell at me, curse at me, or hit me, anything but silence. I could practically feel the time passing, slow and deliberate, with anticipation billowing under surges of shame and regret.

But just as all of my past prayers have gone, these were left unanswered as well.

Logic could quell any second thoughts and passion could move any obstacles, but this bulwark—I'm afraid—may stand long and still.

The silence in the air made me want to claw at my skin, rip at my hair, and choke down a sob. I desperately wanted to escape, but my feet took root in the Earth.

"Let's just— let's just get the gun."

It's always easier to turn the other cheek than to show how you truly feel, don't you think?

Burai slowly nodded his head, eyes darting back and forth between the two of us.

"I guess I should say that as the 'Keeper'," he gestured in air quotes, "I technically shouldn't be telling you how to get the gun, but as the situation is dire and a lot has transpired in a fairly quick amount of time I will take it upon myself to help you out." He gives a little bow before craning his neck up and looking through the exposed cave ceiling into the night sky.

I look up as well, searching for any shooting stars or imperious omens that could quickly get us the gun and out of here. What I would do just to pretend this all didn't happen. I'd endure drinking detergent for Reiji's experiments, being crushed as Shu's body pillow, or even try to force another damned flower crown on Subaru's head, no matter the consequences.

Because it'll never be worse than Yui giving me the silent treatment.

"And it should be happening soon," Burai noted, squinting his eyes off into the distance. "Or maybe not," he added, sighing. "I got the bad snake vision thing."

"So do you have all the qualities of a snake or..." Yui speaks up for the first time, causing me to turn quickly in her direction. As I predicted, she wasn't looking at me at all, instead, all her attention was pointed at Burai and his weird hybrid form. Like I wasn't even there.

He raises his eyebrows and tilts his head. "Well it's only some all the time, and then some that I would change voluntarily. As I aforementioned, the tail I can switch in and out of thank god because you can slither fast with this thing but imagine going over rocky surfaces ouch," he grimaced clearly going through a painful memory.

"But my eyesight is poor like a serpent, that I can't fix, unfortunately, but an upside... my tongue—" his words come off a bit garbling as he opens his mouth to show us. It was forked just like a snake, but what I noticed a bit more quickly were the long fangs positioned at his upper jaw. "Can smell what my eyes can't see. See this rock? Right here—" He picks up a stray rock and stares into its soul. "If you licked it, it'd just taste like rock, but if I licked it, or one of the other Vibora, I'd taste almost every chemical that makes it up. See?" He held up the rock closer to Yui's face who stared at the rock in astonishment.